Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

1953–54 NBA season

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Sport
  
Basketball

Eastern champions
  
Syracuse Nationals

Western champions
  
Minneapolis Lakers

Start date
  
1953

Number of teams
  
9

TV partner(s)
  
DuMont

Eastern runners-up
  
Boston Celtics

Champion
  
Los Angeles Lakers

Number of games
  
72

Finals champion
  
Los Angeles Lakers

League
  
National Basketball Association

Top scorer
  
Neil Johnston (Golden State Warriors)

Similar
  
1965–66 NBA season, 1946‑47 BAA season, 1968–69 NBA season

The 1953–54 NBA season was the eighth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning their 5th NBA Championship in 6 years, beating the Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. It was also the final time the Lakers would win an NBA Championship before the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1960.

Contents

Notable occurrences

  • The Indianapolis Olympians fold prior to the start of the season. Indianapolis would return to professional basketball with the Pacers of the ABA in 1967. The NBA returned to Indianapolis for the 1976–77 season, when the Pacers joined the Association as part of the NBA-ABA merger.
  • The 1954 NBA All-Star Game was played in New York City, with the East beating the West 98–93 in overtime. Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics won the game's MVP award.
  • This marked the first year the NBA had a national television contract. The contract had the DuMont Television Network televising 13 games, paying 39,000 dollars for the rights.

    • Western Division


    x – clinched playoff spot

    Statistics leaders

    Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

    NBA awards

  • Rookie of the Year: Ray Felix, Baltimore Bullets

    • References

    1953–54 NBA season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA